As COVID-19 restrictions ease and parks and gyms begin to reopen, how do I ease back into fitness?

It has been 10 weeks since my clinic closed and I transitioned to doing telehealth physiotherapy appointments with my clients. Learning to adapt to virtual physiotherapy sessions took some time. Now more than ever I had to be mindful of how to effectively manage the expectations of my clients, motivate them to complete exercises at home to aid in their recovery, all while having to tackle technical difficulties when technology wasn’t on my side. In many ways, it’s made me a better physiotherapist and looking back, I’m happy to have done it.

On that same token, I realize it has also been about 10 weeks since I have been to a gym and lifted any weights. Before the pandemic and social distancing, I was visiting the gym around 3-4 days a week, primarily focusing on strength training. I know I’m not alone in my excitement as I hear of gyms and other exercise facilities starting to re-open. As a physiotherapist though, I’m hit with the realization I am no longer the same person I was 10 weeks ago—the strength and fitness I left the gym with the last time, won’t be the same strength I walk back into it with now.

Losing your gains

Gym rats everywhere have been steadily losing their gains! I say this in jest, but in all seriousness, I put on a t-shirt yesterday and realized it used to be more form fitting a few months ago… This reminded me that losing “fitness” (both appearance and performance) can happen quicker than you think. The body is an amazing machine and learns to adapt to the stresses that are placed on it. People who exercise use this to their advantage when they make their gains in the first place. If you exercise regularly, your body will recognize it is being pushed beyond its current limits, and so adapts and becomes stronger. By this same process, if you are not exercising regularly, your body will recognize that it is over prepared for everything and will therefore re-allocate those resources to other places.

I’ve lost my swell. Now what?

As a competitive person, I know firsthand how excited I am to return to some semblance of my normal fitness routine. I also know that I have a tendency to push myself harder and faster than I should. You would think that as a physiotherapist, I always make the best decisions for my body, but... you’d be wrong. I am, after all, only human. I’m not alone in possessing this competitive mindset. Many of the spring and summer injuries I treat in my clinical practice are overtraining injuries. These tend to happen because people see the sunshine and get motivated to go out and be active. This motivation is good and should be harnessed, but without a plan in place, people are likely to over-do-it and contribute to injuring themselves. I mean, what could go wrong switching from binging Netflix for hours on end over the past few months, to starting to run 10 km 4 days per week? Right?

Fortunately, the body is strong and resilient under most conditions. This gives hard-core athletes, weekend-warriors, and casual participants a great deal of leeway to find a training routine that works for them. But despite this resilience, multiple weeks and months of poorly planned training can take its toll on the body. Think back to when you were 10 years old. You could go from the couch to playing a competitive game of soccer without feeling much in terms of injuries or achiness. Now imagine doing that same thing at 30, 40, or 50 years old. As you get older, you require a bit more planning and appropriate preparation when exercising so you don’t regret it later.

What should I do then?

Stay Motivated

I want to stress this part. Just because I am suggesting a bit of prudence and caution while returning to your workout norms, it doesn’t mean I want you to lose that FIRE that’s driving you. Motivation and drive are necessary to get and stay fit. Call up your gym buddy or running partner and start making your plans. Having someone to help keep you accountable is an invaluable resource to get you back on track.

Take Your Time

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were your biceps. If you were able to stick to the same or similar number of weekly workouts over the last 10 weeks, then you can likely safely return to your previous gym routine. On the other hand, if you were only able to squeeze exercise in once a week, then you’ll want to gradually add 1 more day per week every 2-3 weeks until you return to your previous level. Within 2-3 weeks, your body can more easily adapt to the new level of stress being placed on it in order to avoid overtraining. If pain starts to develop, then you should probably either roll back 1 workout day or stay at your current level for another 2-3 weeks before progressing.

In terms of how much weight you should lift, there is no hard and fast rule that will completely remove your chance of overtraining. Having developed a solid base of strength, good form, and good movement patterns after years of strength training will help you return to usual faster. If you lack this experience, you may have to take a couple more steps back when you re-start. Regardless of your experience level, it is advisable to drop your working weight substantially for 2-3 weeks where you are focusing primarily on high reps and good form. This will allow you to relearn your lifts and get your body used to the heavier loads again slowly and safely.

It’s a marathon, not a sprint

At first, it might feel too easy at that weight, and that’s the point. When you first get back at it, your whole body needs to adapt to your new normal. Your brain needs to reconnect to your muscles, and your joints, ligaments, tendons, and muscles need to accommodate to the restored load. The first couple of weeks should be primarily focusing on restoring your good form and practicing your motor patterns again. This may not be the “sexy” part of working out, but it’s one of the best ways to ensure your workouts are sustainable. If you take it easy, the worst case scenario is that you can workout harder next time. Whereas if you push too hard, the worst case scenario is you flare something up and set yourself back even further.

Get back at it

I hope you have fun returning to your workouts, whatever you enjoy doing most. I, for one, am excited to get my weight lifting calluses back as I return to my usual routine. Just remember to take it slow, and use common sense. Pretend you are a newbie for a couple weeks and your body will thank you for it. Also, remember that social distancing rules still apply as we all return to our “new normal”.

Live Happily. Live Strongly.

Christian